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Archive for June, 2011

A heartwarming story which reflects grandly on the Governor – her heart and her spirit , the journalist (who doesn’t even have his name on his own column !), small-town America, the endlessly, tirelessly dedicated Peter Singleton, and the O4P team. Here is the report from a columnist for the Creston News Advertiser in Iowa – exactly the heartland publication the east/west coast bastions would look down on in “fly over country’ but which can propel Palin into the White House.

As some of you might recall, my first column featured Sarah Palin. I wrote a piece featuring her resumé and highlighting a few of her accomplishments. That column attracted the attention of Myrna Beeber a regional manager for Organize4Palin, a grassroots database of volunteers building connections and ready to campaign if Palin runs for president. Myrna contacted the Organize4Palin Iowa Coordinator Peter Singleton and set up lunch between the three of us.

We dined at A&G Steakhouse and had a compelling conversation regarding the former governor and the organization they represented. Only a few weeks after our lunch did I receive an email from Peter inviting me and a guest of my choice to the world premiere of “The Undefeated,” a film featuring Palin’s rise to the national stage.

The debut screened Tuesday at the Pella Opera House, a true historical landmark that has been apart of the Dutch town since 1900. I was honored to receive tickets to the exclusive event and was looking forward to being one of the 340 fortunate individuals to see the movie 17 days before it is released nationwide. After the film, a cookout was held in the downtown courtyard.

Little did I know when I first received the invitation that Palin herself would be attending the premiere. Reading the email confirming that she would not only make an appearance but watch the movie and dine with the guests present was a dream come true. The opportunity not only would benefit me, but the Creston News Advertiser, as well. While many reporters from television and print media covered the event, only a select few were allowed to watch the movie, myself included.

After the movie, we had dinner outside in the courtyard under sunny skies. The crowd waited anxiously for her to finish her meal and begin greeting her fans. With the help of Myrna, I squirmed my way through to the front where Palin was being bombarded left and right with requests for her autograph, handshake and or photo.

Palin was signing buttons, books and other memorabilia left and right, at which point I was able to hand her my column that I had written about her. Confused, she looked up for an explanation, a request I was more than happy to oblige. I introduced myself and shook her hand, explaining that I wrote the opinion column for the Creston News Advertiser where I worked at as a staff reporter.

“I wrote about your resume and your accomplishments,” I said. “I tried to set the truth straight, just like your video.”

She looked me in the eyes and thanked me. Palin signed her autograph and wrote “keep the faith” and “thank you” beneath it. I gave her a copy of the column to take with her should she find time to read it.

Bristol Palin signs her new book as she and her mother, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin signed their books at the Mall of America Wednesday, June 29, 2011 in Bloomington, Minn. At left is Todd Palin. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

It was a family book signing as three generations of Palins were on hand to sign copies of Bristol Palin’s Not Afraid of Life at the Mall of America yesterday. Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, her husband Todd, Bristol and her son Tripp were all present. Gov. Palin also signed copies of America by Heart and Going Rogue for those who also bought Not Afraid of Life.

On the contrary, ask Governor Palin’s supporters why we so relentlessly stand by her side, and responses are centered in her character, her record as a city council member, mayor, oil and gas commissioner, governor, reformer, business owner, vice presidential candidate, mom, wife, athlete, and coach. If there are some who cannot rattle off her record, all of that now changes with the emergence of Stephen Bannon’s The Undefeated which leaves no room for doubts about her qualifications and accomplishments and her ability to lead.

In addition to the Governor’s successes in offices held, her supporters will often express their appreciation that she is something so hard to find in public figures today. They often say it this way: “She’s the real deal.” Americans love a strong, solid record. We need it, and she’s got it. We are also crying out for a real person, a person who can be trusted, a person who has a servant’s heart. We’re desiring a people’s person. We sense that in Governor Palin. Upon meeting her for the first time, many come away feeling they’ve encountered a breath of fresh air. This seems like such a small thing, but after years of gagging from the stench of politics-as-usual, that fresh air has become our craving.

Governor Palin rolled into Pella, Iowa wearing jeans, mingled with the people, watched the film about her own career, signed autographs while eating a burger, and even made impromptu remarks at the conclusion of the film. Now, from what I can tell, she had no obligation to speak, but she delivered these remarks to a cheering crowd. I saw no teleprompter. I saw no notes at all. Yet I heard plenty of substance–comments about our founding documents, American work ethic and exceptionalism, the Judeo-Christian principles upon which we were established, freedom, the private sector, our vast natural resources waiting to be developed, and our position as a beacon of light in this world. Without using notes, without batting an eye, without fumbling for the next word or phrase, she spoke. Just to be sure, I checked with Shane Vander Hart who was there. He confirmed for me that Governor Palin used no notes.

Now, not using notes is one thing, but doing so as one speaks with sincerity and passion to the values and principles that matter most to people–to Iowans, in this case–is another. Iowans are serious about their state and their place in the process of electing leaders. Iowans pride themselves, in fact, on this. And last night, Iowans applauded, cheered, and relished in this moment, not because there was just another person, with another story, giving another speech, but because they knew that this person who could throw on some jeans, sit in the midst of them, speak from her heart to them, and chill out to eat a burger with them is the real deal.

President Obama once restarted a speech when his telempromper malfunctioned. He did not readily recognize that he was repeating what he had already said. That’s what happens when what you say doesn’t resonate within. It’s just words. However, when you mean what you say, when you are what you say, then what you say matters–and people know it.

Governor Palin has had such an impact on people because she is the rare combination of experience, intellect, and authenticity. Unlike any declared candidate for president, she is the complete package, and she is the real deal. With this realization, perhaps we’ve uncovered not only why she is so respected by so many, but more importantly, why she is so hated by others. They don’t despise her because they believe she is a fake, as they often accuse. Perhaps they hate her because she is not, and they know it. They know the same thing her supporters know: she is the real deal–and that, truth be told, scares the crap out of them.

Sarah Palin came to Pella, IA yesterday and the love affair was mutual.

Despite not being a declared candidate for president, Governor Palin received more attention than any of the declared candidates when they appear in the state. There was a media swarm; and even many of those members of the press could not secure tickets for the screening of “The Undefeated.” It’s a testimony to her ability to draw people by the droves that there were so many who wanted to attend the screening and the barbecue which followed who were not be able to attend because of limited space and ticket availability. About 300 people attended the screening and around 1,000 attended the barbecue.

The Palin operation has become a grass roots movement of a large number of people who are organized and kept informed by those who became activists following her 2008 vice presidential run along with new activists who have joined the Palin movement since her resignation. Yes, that’s right. Since resigning as governor, although Palin hit rock bottom in terms of polls and popularity shortly thereafter, more people have come to “have her back” now more so than ever before following a nearly three year slime fest by the mainstream media and the Republican establishment.

Palin’s poll numbers still show lingering effects of a smear campaign that portrayed her as an evil intellectual lightweight bent on returning the world to the days of the dinosaurs. But, the task “The Undefeated” has undertaken to finish correcting the record is far less than that one would have imagined two years ago if looking ahead to 2012 from then. Palin remains a top tier candidate who would be competitive with the rest of the Republican field in the primaries should she choose to listen to the voices of the millions of people who are calling on her to run.

Her ability to do what she has done with her One Nation bus tour and to draw such high demand in Iowa is a testament to her strength and ability, particularly after having withstood a flood of politically motivated frivolous ethics complaints as governor of Alaska, being accused of the Arizona murders in a blood libel against her and after several hit books against her were published as the left sifted through 24,000 pages of emails looking for the gotcha one that didn’t exist.

It’s not going to be easy to run for president. It will require a near perfect campaign on her part. But the biggest obstacle, the media, is finally falling on its face. The failure of the media’s email witch hunt (in fact, it helped Palin demonstrate how well she governed) and now the movie “The Undefeated” is the one-two punch to the media’s face that Palin supporters have been waiting for since the 2008 election.

The Sarah Palin sale is not one that requires selling her record. Her record stands for itself. The Sarah Palin sale is one that requires selling people on the fact that the media lies. Only when people stop listening to the media memes and bullcrap can the real sale of Sarah Palin begin. While “The Undefeated” does sell Palin’s record, it does so in pursuit of the real sale: to prove once and for all that the media myth about Sarah Palin is an utter lie. Those who have participated in the sliming of Sarah Palin, especially well accredited journalists who have spent years building their integrity and gaining stature at their respective media outlets, ought to crawl away from the past three years humiliated, guilt ridden, disgraced and disgusted by their behavior. There is no difference between Journolist-gate and Weiner-gate. In both instances, some really morally inept people exposed themselves for what they really are.

The crystal ball in 2009 told us that 2012 might not happen for Palin. She could enter the race lower in the polls than expected and hinge her hopes of victory on a massive turning on the media by the public due to some unexpected event outside of her control. It was thought that her book tours, Fox News appearances and whatever movies and documentaries which would have been produced could enhance her chances in 2012; but many didn’t count on her being as effective as she has been, not because she wasn’t capable but because they believed that the media would still stop her cold.

Had this more challenging scenario played out, Palin supporters would still be fighting to the death for her and her chances of winning would still be enough to warrant entry into the race. However, the skies are much brighter now and the landscape much more navigable.

The key to all this was the constant pounding from the blogosphere and in conservative media in much the same fashion as the constant pounding against her was taking place on the left. The left got to put its bad thoughts into the minds of the public first; so it became the role of conservative bloggers, websites like Conservatives4Palin and the hundreds that are on the Palin blog roll, the Breitbart sites, talk radio and conservative talk show hosts and pundits on Fox News to flood the minds of American voters with as much or more positive information so as to offset and overcome what was being put out in the negative.

The task was akin to flushing out hundreds of millions of gallons of bad water in a lake by displacing it with hundreds of millions of gallons of good water. Those who understand the concept of how people are able to self improve by putting enough positive thoughts into their heads so as to flush out the negative ones can see how this tactic has worked so well for those on the Palin side. If you are reading this post now, chances are you are one of the many Palin supporters who have been willing to fight to the death for her and who have stuck this thing out through thick and thin. For that, you deserve high praise and a never ending river of compliments.

Yet the one who has astounded all of us the most is the (potential) candidate herself. Sarah Palin has worked harder than anyone ever has in three years to prepare herself for the presidency. In many ways, she has single handedly carried out all of the required tactics laid out by this conservative blogger and many like me. She has infiltrated the media by getting an analyst job with Fox News. She has infiltrated the pop culture by appearing on The Tonight Show (remember her all in good fun take down of William Shatner after which they both walked off stage arm in arm after mocking each other?), by supporting her daughter Bristol’s participation in Dancing With the Stars and by producing the wildly popular Sarah Palin’s Alaska television series. She has infiltrated the intelligentsia’s minds by writing two books, giving substance laced speeches to specialty groups and by penning op-eds which took on global climate change and health care reform.

While her online army, the Media Research Center and Andrew Breitbart among others were clanging swords constantly day after day with the loony left who were just making things up and discarding their journalistic integrity in the name of saving their socialist destruction of America from being thwarted by Governor Palin, Palin herself led the charge from her Facebook and Twitter pages. She was revered by those followers posting on their blogs, tweeting, debunking myths and taking on fire from the haters because she would join them in their battles, riding in like Xena the warrior princess to settle online clashes that had been going on for days in minutes.

Her army certainly had her back for sure; but she is their leader who fights from the front and has never been known to leave one Palinista behind wounded on the battlefield unattended. She has done the work. She is a model of success. Leaders never ask their people to do anything they wouldn’t do. Leaders never show hurt, doubt or fear. Leaders make lemons out of lemonade. They think outside the box. Failure is never final, but rather knowledge gained without having to pay tuition. Those who overcome great adversity often go on to be successful. Sarah Palin is all of this and more. As such, she is the most qualified person in America today to take on the presidency.

Listen to Patrick’s World USA on Blogtalk Radio every Wednesday night at 11:00 pm ET, 8:00 pm PT for some great talk about the role Sarah Palin is playing in the conservative movement toward taking back our country. Tonight’s guests are Whitney Pitcher from Conservatives4Palin and Jackie Siciliano from Team Sarah.

“The point is to bring in the independents, and those somewhat right or left of center who believe the fiction that has been spread about Gov. Palin over these past three years and/or simply do not know her record. In my opinion, the movie will succeed or fail not on winning minds and hearts, but on getting these people to the theaters in the first instance.”

From the Left…David from the Diner

I met a hard leftist the morning of screening day at a diner where I occasionally have breakfast. Out of the starting gate he called Gov. Palin an “idiot” and a quitter.” To him, Obama is “the best President in United States history.” Needless to say, we had a heated debate. Then the light came on. “Sir…are you doing anything at eight o’clock tonight?” I asked “No, why?” “Well, I can get you in to see The Undefeated. It’s about the woman you just called an ‘idiot’ and ‘quitter.’ I’d like you to see it and see if if changes your opinion of her.” “Well, I do have an open mind,” he said. “Sure, arrange it.” He gave me his email address.

So, I did. David was to be there for 8 PM screening. I never saw him there, though there were two screening rooms and he may have been in the other one. In any case, he never returned my email asking if he showed up and what his thoughts were. If I run into him again, I’ll be sure to ask. Maybe, there will be a Part 3.

From the Left…The Man in the Elevator

In the elevator, as Anna Marie Barone, LJ Regine, and I left, we met a balding man, who in the excitement I did not get to identify. He said, “I’m a Democrat, and I’ve got to tell you. This woman is brilliant! I can’t understand the blind hatred toward her.” We could see in his face that he was ashamed of vicious hatred that was on display in the movie’s opening minutes. We thanked him.

From the Left…My Wife

I’ve been married to Elsy for 14 years and six months. We’re still passionately in love, but one area where we are as different as night and day is politics. I’m a Reagan Conservative. Elsy is a borderline socialist. Couple that with her jealous streak, and let’s just say it was a toxic recipe for a while. When she came home a month after my heart-signing in Bethlehem, PA, I wound up riding around with my entire “Sarah stash” in the back of my truck for three weeks. Elsy had found a rough draft of my post on the event, and let’s just say she was not happy about it. Aside from the political differences, Elsy flat out saw Gov. Palin as “that woman” I was spending way too much time on. There were other things going on as well not related to politics.

But, time marches on and time heals. The non-political issues ultimately got resolved. We saved our marriage and our home. Elsy began to have more acceptance and respect for what I do. I opened up more and hid less.

A major break came involving a Palin event this year. “Sweetheart, would you like to go with me?” I asked expecting a flat “NO!” Elsy actually accompanied me. She was delighted to. She simply wanted to share with me, and not be excluded from what I was doing. Though things did not go as planned, her accompanying me was a major break-through. She even posed with my big Palin sign. Though she disagrees politically, she did it to support me.

But, could I get her to watch a two-hour movie about “that woman”? To be blunt, were she not my wife, Elsy would not have seen the movie on her own. She is just too dug in on her positions. But, knowing my history and involvement, she agreed to do it.

Monday night, I put the DVD in the player, closed the door to the master bedroom and went upstairs to run the site, syndicate, promote, and do Organize4Palin work. Though she had many criticisms of the movie (minor cinematography stuff that has since been resolved), and claims she “would have walked out half-way through,” she watched it all the way to the last second. She still disagrees with Gov. Palin on policies and politics – and was able to articulate her points of disagreement. But, there was no hatred. No bile. No insults.

Though she does not like Gov. Palin the speaker, Elsy liked Gov. Palin as Wasilla’s Mayor, as the AOGCC Chair and as Governor. Then…Elsy quickly said some things I never thought I’d hear her say about “that woman”:

“She’s a good person who has done good things.”

“She could win in 2012. She’s a fighter.”

Elsy is still a leftist. Did the movie change her opinion of Gov. Palin? The jury is still out on that, but the prognosis is positive. She’ll probably never admit it. But, I’ll know over time. In a certain sense, getting her to watch The Undefeated was a journey that began on August 29, 2008 at 1226 EDT. It was in fact Elsy who post-viewing recalled Reagan (who she does not like). She recalled how I had pull over to the side of the road when I heard a woman’s voice on the radio, whose name I did not yet know. I would not even know what she looked like for over an hour, but I knew what her forebear looked like and what his voice sounded like….

Sarah Palin will run for the White House in 2012 and conduct an “unorthodox, grassroots campaign the likes of which you’ve never seen”, according to the man who has spent the past eight months organising for her in Iowa.

Speaking to me after the premiere of the film “The Undefeated” in Pella, Iowa, Peter Singleton, a California lawyer who has been assiduously courting Republicans across the state where the first contest of the 2012 election will be heard, said it was “unthinkable” she would remain on the sidelines.

“She’s the right person at this time,” he said. “If you look back at Churchill’s time, in 1938 Churchill was unelectable, in 1940 he was indispensable.

“I can’t see her sitting this one out,” he said. “The stakes are too high. It goes back to 1940. Can you see Churchill sitting it out? It’s unthinkable. Can you see George Washington in 1776 sitting it out? Unthinkable. He wanted to be back on his farm but they said we need you to be president of the republic.”

Mr Singleton, 56, tall and urbane, is a man of considerable mystery. He represents the national Organize4Palin group and has been ubiquitous in Republicans circles building up a network for the former Alaska governor, whose presidential intentions have kept Americans guessing for months.

Although he was standing about 20 yards away from Mrs Palin as he talked to me, Mr Singleton insisted he had never met or spoken to her.

This stance, which he has maintained assiduously since he began working on organising a Palin 2012 campaign in Iowa last November following a scouting trip four months earlier, is something that some senior Iowa Republicans do not take at face value.

It was Mr Singleton who telephoned Beth Hill, director of the Pella Opera House, last Thursday to ask her whether “The Undefeated”, a full-throated defence of Mrs Palin and her career, could be shown there. He then visited to look at the auditorium and put Stephen Bannon, the film’s director on the phone to speak to her.

“Peter came here and he found our town reflected Sarah Palin’s small town, conservative values,” she said. Mr Singleton was also instrumentalin distributing the 332 tickets for the film as well as inviting 1,000 Iowans, including many key Republican leaders in the state, for a barbecue afterwards.

When I asked about his involvement, Mr Singleton said that he was an old friend of Mr Bannon and he had been just one of ” a bunch of people” who had helped set up the screening.

Seymour Vander Schaff, 70, the theatre pipe organist, who performed before the film, said: “This is a conservative community. Swimming pools weren’t even open on Sunday for many, many years. If you run a lawnmower on a Sunday, you’ll probably have a church member come and ask you whether that is the thing to do.

“They break their damn fool neck trying to get the town to pay bills. They don’t want to have debt. It’s important to get bills paid as quickly as possible and save. The ethic is work hard and provide for your family. Those are values that have huge, long-range implications.

“We’ve lost a bit of them over the years and we need to get it back because we’re at a critical tipping point. With the debt, we’ve got a damn monster on our hands.”

Asked by a Fox News reporter before the film about whether she would run in 2012, Mrs Palin responded: “It’s a tough decision, it’s a big decision to decide whether to run for office or not. I’m still contemplating….I am still thinking about the decision and you know a lot goes into such a life-changing, relatively earth-shattering type of decision and still thinking about it.”

Earlier in the day, it had been reported that her eldest daughter Bristol had said Mrs Palin had made a decision about whether or not to run. Mrs Palin laughed about this and said: “I texted Bristol, I said, ‘Honey what did you say this morning on some news programme.

“She said, ‘Oh, mom, you’ve got to watch the interview. You know how they take everything out of context.’ I said, ‘You remember Bristol what we talk about on the fishing boat stays on the fishing boat’. I don’t know what she said.”

After the film, Mrs Palin and her husband Todd were mobbed by hundreds of supporters amid shots of “your record is golden”, when’s the sequel” and “we need you in the White House, Sarah”.

Asked about the movie as she signed autographs and posed for picture, she said that there was “vindication in it” but “beyond the vindication of my record personally and my team’s record it is a wonderful story about American values”.

It went some way, she added, to presenting the reality of her time as Alaska governor and her life. “There are so many false narratives out there about Todd about our kids, about my record, about my team that has worked so hard together that there is never going to be a way to absolutely set the record straight.”

Mr Singleton also spoke about narratives that were incorrect. “The narratives are: she’s not running; she’s about to endorse another candidate; it’s too late for her to get in; she’s going to run as a celebrity candidate; she’s got no support here; support is attenuated; she’s yesterday’s news,” he said. “All that is comically inaccurate.”

Mrs Palin, he said, would work to connect with Iowans. “Her support is latent. When she runs, whether she wins or loses will be dependent in part on how well she campaigns.

“It’s not like all she has to do is announce and then do a couple of rallies. It doesn’t work and way and it shouldn’t . She will need to work diligently and campaign. Her people are going to have to campaign in every town and every county. That’s what we’re doing.”

For her part, Mrs Palin told RealClearPolitics that she would commit “110 percent” to the Iowa caucus process if she does run for president.

Mr Singleton predicted Mrs Palin “will have hundreds of thousands of volunteers, 10 times more than any other candidate and I think that’s why she’ll win”.

There was still time, he insisted, for her to enter the race, currently being led by Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann. “It’s not too late. Would i like her to be here campaigning? Oh sure. But am i worried that the window has closed? No.

“The race is wide open. She a lot of support. I can tell you that because I’ve got field data. I’m part of a team that’s out there all the time.”

Mr Singleton declined to say how many Palin volunteers there were in Iowa but other Republicans said that there were scores, perhaps more than 100, across the state. In time, he said, he expected that “lots of our volunteers now will fold into her campaign in some capacity”.

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ABC really needs to get a clue. There’s a reason they, and others like them, are called the lamestream media. They named an article “Sarah Palin’s Unlikely Supporter.” Why this title? Well, the whole basis for the use of the word “unlikely” is based on race. Sonnie Johnson, interviewed in Stephen Bannon’s The Undefeated, is a tea party patriot who happens to be Black. According to the ABC title, this makes her some type of enigma. I continue to shake my head at the left who are so fond of projecting their own issues with race onto the right. They are the ones who view people of darker skin tone in the context of race alone, rather than as human beings who have the same reasoning capacity and love of country as others do.

Sonnie Johnson loves this country and loves what it represents. Therefore, she loves Governor Palin. The article highlights her support of the Governor. Their surprise, as evidenced by their title, unnecessarily sticks out like a sore thumb.

As I discussed here and Whitney here, Sonnie explains her support for the Governor:

The one trait I love about Sarah Palin is the one no one talks about. Her main promise, above everything else, is to get the hell out of my life. I would love a President who didn’t believe it was their job to create jobs. A president who isn’t scared to let the free market work because SHE believes in Free Markets. And isn’t afraid to spend her time taking on the Corruption in Washington, instead of burdening the American People with more regulations. A President who doesn’t believe in punishing the rich, but creating a level playing field where every American, connected or not, can obtain and build wealth.

These values are not limited to pockets of our society, but all people benefit from a freer, more prosperous, more ethical government. Why is it “unlikely” that Sonnie would crave such a place for her children to grow up in?

There’s the stereotype of the Sarah Palin supporter, and then there’s Sonnie Johnson.

The 30-year-old African-American mother and wife is featured in “The Undefeated” as one of the many people Palin captivated when John McCain thrust her onto the national stage as his vice presidential running mate in 2008. In Pella, Iowa today for the premiere of the film, Johnson said she latched on to Palin when the former Alaska governor took the stage at the Republican National Convention.

“We were watching it on TV and my daughter was like, ‘A girl can be president?,’” Johnson recalled. “And I said, ‘Yes, baby, girls can do anything.’ That was the moment — I saw that look in my daughter’s eye, that anything in possible. The next week, I went to my very first political event, and that was to see Sarah Palin. John McCain and Sarah Palin.”

Johnson has become increasingly involved in the tea party since then, speaking at tea party events around her native Virginia. She’ll give the keynote address at an event held by the Charlottesville, VA. tea party on the Fourth of July with her young daughter by her side.

“She’ll be on stage with me,” Johnson said. “I want to get her involved, little by little. I like to say that for the black community, nothing will change until we learn to love our children more than we love the Democratic party.”

The truth, as I thoroughly explained here, here, and here, is that the principles for which Governor Palin fights are vital for all Americans but absolutely essential for the Black community. Sonnie Johnson’s support for these principles should come as no surprise. In fact, it’s basic common sense. The more the message is heard–truly heard–the more it will be received–by people of all backgrounds.

May the multitudes of Americans get behind Governor Palin and declare, as did Sonnie Johnson in Iowa:

“I’ll peddle her today,” she said. “Basically, I put the option out there that if she’s going to run, I’ll be hers through 2012. Anything I can do, I’ll be hers.”

Read the full article here. Sonnie Johnson has a great story that ABC does manage to capture, in spite of their obvious surprise at such “unlikely” support.

(h/t Irma E. Muñoz)

UPDATE: To be clear, I don’t have a problem discussing race. I do discuss race. I have discussed, for example, how conservative principles are an asset to the Black community, how Governor Palin’s values are vital to the survival of the Black community. My purpose in pointing to ABC’s strange comment about Sonnie Johnson’s race is that it has no place within this article. It serves to portray her as different from other Governor Palin supporters in an attempt to continue the narrative that Governor Palin’s appeal is only to certain Americans, when in fact, she appeals to a wide range of people, and what she stands for is valued by many. The reference to the unlikelihood of Ms. Johnson’s support is totally out of sync with the article. It’s pointless in terms of substance. It further serves to paint Black conservatives as different from other Black people, to perpetuate the sell-out, not really Black, or not Black enough accusation we so often endure. The otherwise fair, interesting article should have remained one about substance alone. But ABC had another agenda, which they tried to innocently slip in with their title.

– by Josh Painter
*
Reporter Scott Conroy is in Pella, Iowa, where he caught up with Sarah Palin and asked her if she would fully commit to traditional retail politicking in the key early primary state should she get into the 2012 presidential contest:

“110 percent,” Palin told RealClearPolitics before entering the premiere of a documentary that extols her accomplishments in office. “Doing as much as I can to garner that support. It’s necessary.”

Dressed down in blue jeans, Palin strolled through the center of this picturesque town with her husband Todd and greeted supporters who gathered to cheer her on outside the screening of filmmaker Steven K. Bannon’s “The Undefeated” at the 110-year-old Pella Opera House.

Asked about her daughter Bristol’s pronouncement during an appearance on Fox News on Tuesday morning that her mother “definitely knows” whether she intends to launch a White House bid, Palin said that she texted Bristol after hearing about the remark.

“I said, ‘What did you say this morning, honey?'” Palin said with a smile. “I told Bristol, too, what is talked about on the fishing boat stays on the fishing boat.”

[…]

As Palin finally made her way to the entrance of the opera house, she greeted Bannon with a hug.

“I’m very grateful that someone would bother to go to these efforts to make a documentary about the record of my team in Alaska that worked so hard for energy security and ethics reform and privatizing businesses that should never be in government’s hands,” Palin said. “This film really is a great illustration of what it is that you can accomplish as a team, a bipartisan approach, just commonsense solutions to some tough issues. We tackled it, we succeeded, and someone went to the trouble of documenting what it was that we accomplished. I appreciate that, so that brings me to Iowa.”

Wouldn’t it be nice if Beltway gossip magazines did some rudimentary fact-checking before they ran with stories? That is, of course, assuming that they’re not just making stories up out of thin air.

Take, for example, a Politico story out today alleging that Governor Palin’s “Team” is contacting a “list” of Iowa politicos for meetings. The story even quotes one such person who is purported to be on that list for a meeting. Only one problem: it’s not true. Real Clear PoliticsdebunkedPolitico’s trumped up story:

Politico reported on Monday that Palin aides were reaching out to Iowa operatives and activists to set up meetings during her visit, citing Chuck Laudner, a former Iowa GOP executive director. But Laudner told RCP that he did not have a private meeting scheduled with Palin and that no one who works for the former governor had made contact with him.

Laudner said that he received an invitation to attend the festivities surrounding the movie premiere from Peter Singleton, a California native who moved to Iowa several months ago to help organize in the state in advance of a possible Palin presidential run. Singleton is acting on his own and is not a Palin aide but has often been confused for one as he has made his presence known across the state.

So basically we have a story that is completely bogus. Basic fact-checking is your friend, media. Try it some time.

In the meantime, Governor Palin looks forward to spending time tomorrow with the people of Pella, Iowa, and enjoying the premiere of Stephen K. Bannon’s new film, “The Undefeated.” After that, she heads to Minnesota to join her daughter Bristol at a book signing for Bristol’s new book “Not Afraid of Life” at the Mall of America. Then back to Alaska for jury duty.

Would you want your teenage years broadcast to the world? Probably not. Just fessing up to some of your teenage mistakes would send the blood rushing to your cheeks, however, for Bristol Palin, it just comes with the territory.

The world has witnessed Bristol Palin transform from unwed teenage mom to a finalist on Dancing with the Stars to a highly valued spokesperson for teenage pregnancy. In her new memoir, Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far, we learn even more about Bristol Palin as she is remarkably candid about her teenage mistakes and problems.

Even before its release, you probably read snippets of the book, specifically how Palin referred to Levi as a ‘gnat’ and somebody who cheated on her “as frequently as he sharpened his hockey states.” And of course the mentions of Meghan McCain, which had media outlets foaming at the mouth for a public catfight. But besides the usual soundbites that the media have eaten up, the book delves into the life of a teenager who is not only navigating the world of love and heartbreak, but also politics and stardom.

Bottom line and what most readers will take away from the book is that Bristol Palin was a teenager who fell in love and became blind to the bad boy prone to romps with other girls and disrespect to her family. You’ll be reassured that the combustible relationship that played out on the worldwide stage was very similar to a Jerry Springer episode and although you’ll find yourself asking, “When is this girl going to realize that this guy is not good for her?,” you’ll also admire the fortitude of a girl who isn’t afraid of taking on life’s imperfection. Palin even realizes the complexity of her own life with some self-deprecating humor (my life had become a Jerry Springer episode, and a bad one at that”).

It was fascinating to read about Palin’s time at the Governor’s mansion and what happened behind the scenes at the 2008 Presidential race from the eyes of a teenager, but I think what stood out for me most was Palin’s insight on how sexual standards are vitally important for a person’s sense of well-being. Although most of America welcomes reformed drug addicts to share their story, they look at an unwed teenage mom as a ‘hypocrite giving unrealistic advice.’ It’s really unfortunate because although Palin admits to making “pretty foolish decisions,” she has also used her situation to warn other teen girls about having sex before they’re married. The reason Palin says she shared her story was to convey a simple truth to the teens and adults who are out there reading the book—that if you have made a sexual mistake, you don’t have to fully give in to that sin. This from a 20-year-old, who realizes she hasn’t always “walked the walk” when it comes to standards, but isn’t going to be burdened by the bad decisions that have previously haunted her.

“Making mistakes and dealing with them, suffering pain and longing for a better day…that’s just all a part of life,” Palin writes.

Even though most of us haven’t had our mistakes play out on national TV, that’s something we can all relate to, wrestling with the indignities, pain and disappointments of life.

I’m shocked to read the many reviews out there that discredit Palin’s affect on one of the most important issues in our nation—teen pregnancy. For instance, The Washington Post writes, “If Palin truly counts herself among the most famous of women who have been wronged, and she really does want to help young adults avoid making similar mistakes, then it’s sad she couldn’t put her celebrity to more positive use.” Let’s see, Palin has become a spokesperson for the Candie’s Foundation, has appeared on television and in magazines to talk about waiting to have sex until marriage, has shot PSA’s stressing the importance of teen abstinence, has hit the speaker circuit to share her tale and has now contributed her new memoir to warn other teen girls about having sex before they’re married. What else is she expected to do? It seems to me that this 20-year-old has done so much to help teenagers avoid a similar situation by making her teenage mistakes and problems public , something I dare anyone out there to do.
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